The Washington Post

Joseph McLellan - March 12, 2004

"At Wolf Trap, A Comic 'Volpone' That Truly Sings"

A masterpiece was born Wednesday night at the Barns of Wolf Trap. Ben Jonson's 399-year-old play "Volpone" took on a new life in the world premiere of an opera of the same name by composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell.

This is Musto's first opera, but he is vastly experienced in other musical forms, and his score was highly eclectic with flavors that include jazz, Broadway, a bit of bel canto, a lot of verismo, and a fleeting tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan. Michael Barrett conducted it with an acute sense of the varied styles.

In all modes, including a hint of atonality, the music is delightfully listener-friendly. Campbell's libretto (deftly trimmed down to two acts from Ben Jonson's five) is frequently brilliant and always accessible. The words were projected clearly, for the most part, by the excellent cast in the Barns' mellow acoustics, and Leon Major's stage direction had exactly the right blend of clarity, lightness and vivid action. This opera is likely to be taken up by many other American companies; a shortage of comic operas is one of the problems of the rapidly growing American opera repertoire.

In Campbell's adaptation, as in Jonson's original, "Volpone" is a detailed and ingenious study of greed in many ramifications.

A rich man in Venice (his Italian name means "fox") grows richer by a curious swindle: He pretends to be deathly ill and encourages others to give him lavish gifts, hoping to become his heirs. His victims are a colorful group, all wealthy and hoping to become more wealthy by unscrupulous means. Voltore (the vulture), true to his name, hopes to prosper by pillaging a dead man. Corvina (the raven) and Cornaccio (the crow) share this ambition; Cornaccio is willing to pander his young bride Celia (fresh out of a convent and deeply devout) if he sees a profit in it.

A key role in the plot is played by Erminella, proprietor of a brothel in Paris, who is looking for her long-lost son in Venice.

Volpone's manservant Mosca (the fly) has a fine array of flylike orchestral buzzes in the accompaniment to his arias and a role almost as central as Volpone's. Volpone pretends to die at the end of Act 1; he makes Mosca his heir as part of their conspiracy to get out of town with his ill-gotten gains, but Mosca betrays him, claims everything and kicks him out of his home, a development that postpones but does not block a happy ending.

"Volpone," commissioned by the Wolf Trap Foundation, included many alumni of the Wolf Trap Opera Company in its well-cast production. Outstanding work was done by Joshua Winograde in the title role, and Joseph Kaiser as Mosca. The three victims with bird names were colorfully represented by Ryan Taylor, Wendy Hill and Jason Ferrante taking various birdlike postures. Sara Wolfson performed brilliantly as Celia. Among those who sang and acted well in supporting roles were Mary Gresock, Karen Mercedes, Eugene Galvin, Ross Hauck and Adriana Zabala.

There will be repeat performances tonight and Sunday afternoon. They should play to capacity audiences.

© 2004 The Washington Post Company